T. REX vs. TRICERATOPS
Look closely at the three indentations to the left of my hand. They are tooth marks in this leg bone of a triceratops. Ouch! If you’re wondering, this is a cast, not the real fossil, thus intended to be touched.
TIME MACHINE FOR SALE!
Starting TODAY, you can buy my dinosaur role playing game. It’s 170,000 words of Cretaceous adventure. You’re invited to switch on the flux navigator and take my time machine for a spin. Oh, and watch out for those triceratops horns! You do want to get home in one piece, don’t you? It’s perfect for anyone who loves interactive fiction and/or dinosaurs. Check out T-Rex Time Machine from Choice of Games.
A DYNASTY OF DINOSAURS
When writing about dinosaurs and other creatures tromping, swimming, or flitting through the Mesozoic, it becomes necessary to refer to a whole bunch of them. What exactly are they called? I’ve decided to invent my own collective nouns.
An aerie of Archaeopterx
An ambush of Albertosaurs
An array of Oviraptors
A battery of Baryonyxs
A brood of Brachiosaurs
A colony of carnosaurs
A drove of Dryosaurus
A herd of Herrerasaurs
A horde of horned Hadrosaurs
A mob of Mosasaurs
A pack of Pachycephalosaurs
A terror of Tyrannosaurs
A troop of Triceratopsians
Naturally, one needs some collective nouns for those being who may interact with the dinosaurs, such as—
A passel of paleontologists
A panic of proto-mammals
NEW TRICERATOPS DISCOVERY IN WYOMING
From Newcastle, Wyoming comes fascinating news about the discovery of the remains of three triceratops dating to 67 million years ago, which is the Late Cretaceous. Although much work and analysis needs to be done, the preliminary word is that three individuals were found together, which is not particularly common. What’s more, two of them may be juveniles. If so, this find may shed more light on their social organization, as well as their growth and development.
Even better, it seems that the skeletons may be unusually complete. The presence of many small bones is terrific, given that smaller bones are not nearly as prevalent in the fossil record as larger and thicker bones. The small bones can get washed away more readily, or deteriorate before they can be fossilized. Also, small bones may be consumed by predators.
So hats off to Dr. Pete Larson, paleontologist and president of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and to Dr. Anne Schulp of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
ROSEMARY CLAIRE SMITH 